Meet the New Guy?
by Neeter
Summary: Daniel hires a new civilian consultant will his old friend fit in with the crowd at the SGC? Dr. Farrell series 1
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Notes: **This is a repost of the first story that I ever wrote. Thanks to a certain winged cheerleader and beta extraordinaire I feel that it's ready to be resubmitted to my peers. Thanks also to Brionhet for graciously allowing me to use her story "Choose Your Battles" as an inspiration for parts of my own. As always, constructive feedback is welcomed. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

**Chapter 1 - Meet the New Guy?**

General Hammond stood at the foot of the ramp waiting for his flagship team. He seemed to be ignoring the sounds and flashing lights that surrounded him and the rest of the security personnel stationed in the gate room. He was silently counting off the team members appearing through the event horizon shimmering before him.

_One, two, three . . . Ah, four! Good, they all appear to be in one piece this time!_

The claxons in the gate room ceased blaring as the last member of SG1 walked down the ramp and the incoming wormhole shut down. General Hammond gave his second-in-command a slight smile and said, "Right on time, Colonel. Did you and SG1 find anything interesting on P3X-987?"

Colonel O'Neill gave his CO a gentle smirk, "Oh, not much - just lots of trees and the ruins of an ancient civilization. You know - the usual, sir."

Hammond nodded, "Okay, Colonel. Hit the locker room - we'll debrief in one hour."

**ooOOoo**

"P3X-987 appears tohold the remnants of a civilization with obvious Mayan influences. I'd recommend we send out another team to continue the survey of the ruins.The inscriptions thatI've translated so far seem to indicate a fairly advanced civilization, but oddly enough, no reason as to why the planet was abandoned." Daniel paused in his briefing to run an exasperated hand through his hair.

"What seems to be the problem, Dr. Jackson?" asked the general.

"Sir, we have a personnel issue."

"What do you mean?" Hammond asked, puzzled by the seeming non sequitur.

"General, we no longer have anyone on staff who really specializes in the North or South American cultures."

"You seem to be doing okay with this stuff, Daniel," Jack said.

Daniel shook his head, "That's the problem, Jack. I'm doing _okay_ with this stuff, but I'm also a member of SG1. And, as you've pointed out to me on more than one occasion, as a member of a first contact team I don't always have the luxury of spending the time needed to adequately analyze the data I've gathered."

Everyone in the room watched as Daniel paced before them, becoming caught up in his dilemma. "There's evidence of Goa'uld presence on P3X-987, and I'd really like to know what happened to the people who lived there. We're also starting to run into more planets with connections to the ancient American civilizations. Robert used to cover most of those, but…" Daniel paused at the inadvertent mention of his dead friend, a shadow of grief flickering across his face, before continuing. "Now, I want to keep my place on SG1, but in order to do that I need to have someone on staff who's capable of handling the supervision of these sites if I'm not available."

General Hammond nodded thoughtfully. "Dr. Rothman's death has created a bit of a shortfall in your department, Dr. Jackson. Why don't you make a list of possible candidates and pass them on to Colonel O'Neill so that we can begin the screening process. We'll put any return to P3X-987 on the back burner until we have the suitable personnel in place."

The general rose to his feet. "Good job, people. SG1 is on stand-down for the next three days. Dismissed."

The other members of SG1 rose to their feet simultaneously as the general left the room. Jack clapped his hands and rubbed them together gleefully. "Okay Campers, let's go find something to keep us busy. Anyone up for a spot of fishing?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow immediately. "I am sorry, O'Neill, but I will be unable to join you. I have agreed to assist Gunnery Sergeant Williams with the hand-to-hand combat training for the new SGC recruits." The tall Jaffa bowed slightly to his teammates and exited the room rather faster than his normally sedate pace.

The colonel glanced at Daniel. "Fishing, Space Monkey?"

The archaeologist sighed. "One day, Jack, you're going to tell me where you came up with that ridiculous nickname. Sorry, not this time. I should . . . uh . . . really get started on that list. Maybe Sam would like to go?" He turned to Major Carter, his eyebrows raised, with a supremely innocent look on his face.

Sam glowered at her friend before her CO turned his gaze on her. "You'll have to count me out, too, sir. I haven't finished the science staff reviews and they're due on Monday. Take a rain check?"

Jack shrugged. "Yeah sure, you betcha." Tucking his hands in his pockets, he turned and exited the room. "See you on Monday, kids."

Sam and Daniel both sighed with relief as they trailed him from the room.

**ooOOoo**

O'Neill sauntered into Daniel's office on Monday morning to find the archaeologist standing in the middle of the room studying a sheaf of papers in his hand.

"Hey Daniel."

Startled, Daniel looked up from his papers. "Oh, hey Jack. I was actually just coming to look for you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I've got that list of candidates that General Hammond wanted." He handed Jack the papers he'd been perusing.

"Okay. I'll take this to Personnel after breakfast. Come on, Carter and Teal'c are waiting for us in the commissary. I think they have waffles this morning - your favorite." O'Neill clapped his friend on the shoulder and guided him out into the hallway.

**ooOOoo**

"Gentlemen, let's get started," General Hammond greeted O'Neill and Daniel as he joined them in the briefing room.

Daniel handed the men a small stack of folders. "We came up with three possible candidates for the open position and Personnel finished the background checks yesterday. I've worked with one of the candidates personally and Dr. Lee gave me the names of the other individuals."

Jack snorted. "Well, if they're anything like Lee, they won't fit in - especially if we're looking for someone to put on a field team."

Daniel shot him an irritated glance. "Bill is doing much better since he started with the SGC. You can't expect everyone to be field-trained before they get here, Jack!"

General Hammond barely kept himself from rolling his eyes at their bickering. "Colonel O'Neill has a valid point, Dr. Jackson. We're looking for someone to add to a field-team and even though we will provide some training for them, whoever we select needs to be capableof handling the situations our teams routinely face off-world."

Daniel nodded, frustrated. "I understand, General. In that case, I think that we'll have to automatically disqualify two of the candidates. They're more academics than anything else. Dr. Farrell, however, has the qualifications we need." He drew a file from the bottom of his stack and gestured for the other two men to do the same.

The other men opened their files simultaneously and began to read. Daniel already knew most of the details and sat back in his seat to watch the reactions of the other two men.

"Ariana Farrell, age thirty-three," Jack read aloud. "Unless she's another _wunderkind_ like you, this Farrell's a little young to have the experience we're looking for, don't you think, Daniel? And what the heck kind of name is 'Ariana'?"

Daniel sighed. "Dr. Farrell is only a few years younger than I am, Jack, and I'm only a few years younger than some of the civilians we have on other teams; not to mention the fact that she's quite a bit older than some of the military members in the field teams. She's avoided the typical academic career routes and has solid experience in her areas of expertise. On top of that, her field skills should make her transition into the SGC a little easier – she's in good physical shape and knows how to handle herself."

Jack grunted, conceding the point. "And the name?" he persisted.

"Dr. Farrell's mother, Elena, is a Mexican national. I believe that Ariana was named for her maternal grandmother, but I'll need to double-check that," Daniel retorted facetiously.

Jack snorted. Before he could reply to Daniel's sarcasm, General Hammond smoothly regained control of the conversation. "If you would continue, Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel answered the general without hesitation. "Dr. Farrell's father was an executive with British Petroleum and moved his family all over the world. Because of this, Dr. Farrell speaks several languages and seems to have a knack for picking up new ones wherever she goes. She also holds advanced degrees in anthropology and botany in addition to being a medical doctor."

Jack glanced at Daniel slyly before turning to the general. "Sounds like just another geek to me, sir."

Daniel rose to the bait. "Jack! As an ethnobotanist, Dr. Farrell can fill a niche that we've been missing on the social science staff."

The general frowned. "An ethnobotanist?"

Jack answered before Daniel had the opportunity. "She goes out into the jungle and tries to find new cures for diseases and stuff, right Daniel?"

Daniel stared intently at Jack before responding. "Yes and no. That's just one aspect of Dr. Farrell's work. Ethnobotanists gather data mainly from living peoples in hopes of gathering a view of their past existence as well as an understanding of present uses of plants for food, medicine, construction materials, and tools. Dr. Farrell worked with the Guarani people in the Amazon for four years and she did her graduate field work with the Maya in the Yucatan. That's where I met her, actually, while I was on a dig at Uxmal."

"So why do you think that Dr. Farrell would be a better candidate for the SGC than these others, Dr. Jackson?" the Hammond asked, indicating the unopened dossiers.

"For several reasons, General. First, she has training in the fields that we need. Second, one of our goals at the SGC is to bring back new medical knowledge from the peoples we encounter - a task she's uniquely qualified to handle. Third, if she can survive in the Amazon for long stretches of time with limited contact with the civilized world, she'll probably make it out in the field. And lastly, she's a widow; other than her parents, Dr. Farrell has no one to ask her difficult questions about what we do here." Daniel ticked the points off on his fingers.

"Widow? I didn't see that," Jack interjected, flipping through the file.

Daniel turned to the correct page in his own folder. "She married Gareth Spencer in 1988. He was a British geologist who worked with her father at BP. Spencer was kidnapped and eventually killed while on a short-term assignment to Angola in 1992."

"What is she doing now?" asked the general.

"She's been doing field research for a pharmaceutical company based out of California, but I'm pretty sure that I could convince her to work for us without any problems," Daniel replied.

The general looked at his 2IC. "Colonel, if you concur with Dr. Jackson's assessment, you have my permission to approach Dr. Farrell concerning a position at the SGC."

"Yes, sir. We'll take care of it." Jack promised.

General Hammond nodded and stood. "Very well, gentlemen. Dismissed."

**ooOOoo**

Ariana wondered for the thousandth time what she had gotten herself into. Jackson's call had come at an opportune time - she was ready to get out of San Francisco. After living in the Amazon for so long, she'd found the bustle of the big city just a little too much to handle – culture shock she supposed. Ariana had put out feelers concerning other fieldwork, but had really started the search too late for the coming season. That was why, when the archaeologist had called out of the blue saying that she would be the perfect addition to the "exciting project" he was working for, she'd jumped at the offer with little thought.

Her enthusiasm had lasted through the arduous task of packing for the move to Colorado Springs, signing the pile of nondisclosure forms her new employers had sent, and her conversations with her parents. Her father, smart enough to know what working for the military could entail, had only warned her to be careful and to keep in touch. Ariana knew that he would keep her mother from worrying too much.

Now she was here at last, sitting at the guard post of the NORAD facility, waiting for the Special Forces guard to check her driver's license against a list on his clipboard. The young soldier handed her driver's license back to her along with a clip-on visitor's badge. "Here you go, Dr. Farrell. Just drive down through the tunnel and park wherever you find a spot. I'll call ahead and let the guard post know you're coming. Have a good day, ma'am."

"Thank you, Airman," she nodded, noticing his small start of surprise that she'd gotten his rank correct. Ariana smiled to herself as she put the car into gear. Always the anthropologist, she had tried to prepare for her new environment as thoroughly as possible. Some of her research had just paid off - there were times when it wasn't such a bad thing to be a geek.

Ariana pulled off her sunglasses as she entered the lighted tunnel that led to the underground facility that was soon to become her new workplace. She glanced at her reflection in the rear-view mirror, grimacing at the picture she presented. Why had she decided that driving with the top down was a good idea? Her wavy hair was usually a little unruly, but the ride up the mountain had only made the situation worse. Good Lord, now she looked as frazzled as she felt! Oh well.

As she parked her car, Ariana realized that she'd managed to get a place fairly close to the guard post that marked the end of her journey. She noticed a blonde woman dressed in a navy garrison uniform chatting with another SF. Heaving another sigh and trying to smooth down her hair, Ariana grabbed her purse and bag.

She straightened up in time to see the blonde walking toward her from the guardhouse with a friendly smile on her face. Extending her hand toward Ariana, the woman said, "Are you Dr. Farrell? I'm Major Sam Carter. I've been waiting for you to arrive."

Ariana felt a small moment of panic. She glanced at her watch quickly before shaking Sam's hand. "I didn't think I was late – Dr. Jackson said that I should be here by 8:00."

Sam laughed. "Don't worry. You're not late. Daniel was going to meet you, but he got stuck in an early briefing and asked me to wait for you instead. Come on; let's go grab some breakfast. You've got a long day ahead of you."

**ooOOoo**

After showing Ariana the locker room and stowing her bag and purse, the two women headed for the commissary. Ariana felt conspicuous as the only person present in civilian clothing who wasn't wearing a lab coat. She'd thought carefully about what to wear that morning and had thought that her black slacks and man-tailored blouse wouldn't stand out too much. What had made her think that anything but a uniform would help her blend in on a military base?

Sam brought Ariana back to her surroundings by touching her arm and motioning toward a table at the back of the room. She nodded her acceptance and followed her guide to the table indicated. As she put down her tray, Sam broke the silence. "Was that a Benz 220 SE you were driving?"

Ariana shot a quick glance up at her table companion. "Yes! It's a '65 – a present to myself when I got back to the States. How did you know?"

Sam laughed. "I like to restore classic cars and motorcycles in my spare time. I have a silver '61 Volvo coupe in storage at the moment. So, do you like classic motorcycles, too?"

Ariana grinned sheepishly. "Not really - I usually prefer to get my thrills on horseback. I'd probably kill myself if I tried to ride a bike on these mountain roads."

A deep voice behind them chuckled. "That's what I keep telling Carter she's going to do, but she won't listen to me."

The two women looked up to see three men with trays standing behind them. Ariana stood as Sam addressed the handsome silver-haired man who had spoken. "Dr. Farrell, this is my commanding officer, Colonel Jack O'Neill."

The colonel nodded to her as he put his tray down at the head of the table. "Farrell, nice to meet you. The big guy over there is Teal'c and I think you know Dr. Jackson."

The big black man nodded to Ariana, who returned the gesture just as solemnly before turning to the blond man next to her. With a huge grin, she asked, "Gotten all the dirt out from under your fingernails yet, Rock Boy?"

"Still got those grass stains on your Birkenstocks, Nana?" Daniel returned the volley with a matching grin of his own. He reached over and gave her a quick hug, oblivious to the slightly shocked glances shared by his teammates.

Daniel's open and relaxed reaction to the woman next to him made Jack stop and look at her more closely. When he had seen her upon entering the commissary, his first thought had been 'country club'. Dr. Farrell's clothing was understated but obviously expensive. She had an undeniable Latin cast to her features, but was fairer than he had expected, with sable hair curling along her jaw. She was also taller than he'd thought, easily matching Carter in height. The only truly striking things about her, however, were her eyes. They were large, deep brown and full of laughter.

Jack brought his attention back to his tablemates when he noticed that the two friends had switched languages.

Daniel placed his hand on Ariana's arm and said in German, "_Ich habe dich vermißt, Zucker_."**1**

_I missed you, Sugar? Huh?_ Jack thought.

Ariana smiled wistfully. "_Ich habe dich auch vermißt, Äffchen_."

Everyone turned to stare at the colonel when he started choking on the coffee he'd been sipping. "I missed you too, _Monkey_?" Splutter. "She calls you 'Monkey'?"

Daniel blushed. "I didn't know you spoke German, Jack."

"_Es gibt vieles, was du nicht über mich weißt, Äffchen_"**2 **Jack chortled. "Or should I say _Raumaffe?_"**3**

At this outburst, Ariana looked around the table, only to see Sam with a grin on her face and Teal'c with his eyebrow raised to its fullest height. She looked to Daniel, who mumbled, "It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

Daniel looked at his watch and stood up hastily. "Oh, look at the time! I'd better get you to the infirmary. You don't want to be late for your appointment with Dr. Fraiser."

Ariana stood to follow her friend. "It was nice to meet you all, Sam, Teal'c, Colonel."

"See you later, Ariana," Sam smiled.

Teal'c inclined his head. "Dr. Farrell."

Jack grinned evilly. "I think I'm going to like having you around, Farrell. See you soon."

1. You'd normally use a different word here (i.e., Shatze) but I've translated literally for the sake of the story  
2. _There are a lot of things that you don't know about me, Monkey_. German  
3. _Space Monkey_. German. Literally _space ape_. Not a real term – just Jack being snarky/


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: **Warning! There's quite a bit of cursing in thischapter - it's all in foreign languages, but it IS translated at the end of the chapter. Mind the kiddos on this one, folks.

**Chapter 2 - Fitting in**

_See you soon_.

The colonel's parting words echoed in Ariana's head as she collapsed on the bed in her base quarters three days later. After Daniel had dropped her off at the infirmary that first morning, she had not seen any of the other members of SG1 until today.

_SG1_. These four people comprised Stargate Command's premier off-world team. Her friend, Daniel, had been instrumental in translating the inscriptions that had allowed people from Earth to travel to another world! The very enigmatic man named Teal'c was an alien! Ariana knew that if she'd had the energy to write her thoughts in her journal, every sentence would have appeared laughable to anyone reading them. Her mind was buzzing - these people were doing incredible things - and they wanted her to be a part of it all.

The poking and prodding and tests that she had been subjected to by the diminutive Dr. Fraiser had taken up the bulk of her first day at the SGC. Being an MD herself, Ariana was a little puzzled by the in-depth nature of the examinations but Janet, as the CMO had asked to be called, explained that they wanted baseline measurements for everything on their personnel. Ariana had found herself liking the other woman immensely, chatting with her throughout the day about everything from infectious diseases, one of Janet's specialties, to the medical equipment that military teams carried with them into the field. Finally, after she had been immunized for everything under the sun, she had been sent off to see the base quartermaster to be outfitted.

Sergeant Travis, the quartermaster, was a jolly little man who had laughed at her expression as she watched the pile of uniforms and equipment growing on the table before her. He had explained that they were uncertain as to which unit she would be assigned, but that she should come back to see him as soon as she knew. She had nodded dumbly and followed his assistant down to the locker rooms where the airman helped unload everything into her locker.

Her second day at the SGC had been even more confusing. After entering the briefing room to discover that she was the only female, and the only civilian, present she'd had her world blown apart. The entire day had been taken up with a detailed explanation of the Stargate, the SGC and their allies.

This morning, at least, they had set her tasks with which she was familiar and that required little of her concentration. Ariana smiled to herself as she recalled the events of the day.

Upon entering the firing range, she had glimpsed the others who had been in the briefing room with her the day before. She'd walked up to the four men with a friendly smile and after a couple of uncomfortable moments they had all introduced themselves. Three of them were USAF Special Forces: Airman Henry Thompson, Lieutenant Jesse Gutierrez, and Sergeant Donnie McDaniel. The marine in the group, Sergeant Caleb Metcalf, was Force Recon and had been less than welcoming.

When the marine master sergeant in charge of range instruction, Sergeant Bradley, had called them together moments later, they discovered that the five of them would be going through the SGC skills evaluation and training together.

He'd surveyed them all and looking at the four military men said, "Most field teams have a civilian specialist assigned to them. It will be your responsibility as trained soldiers to keep your civilians out of trouble while they do their jobs; some of them have a real talent for finding it. Training with Dr. Farrell here should give you some good practice." The smile Bradley shot her had not been unkind, and she'd begun to relax a little.

Metcalf had sneered when Bradley pulled her aside. "Dr. Farrell, ma'am, do you have any experience with guns?"

In a moment of perversity, she'd opened her eyes to their fullest extent and looked up at him through her lashes. Letting her slight Texan accent thicken she said, "Well, Master Sergeant, I've gone huntin' before and shot a handgun a time or two."

She had heard a soft groan and a quickly stifled snort of disgust from the men behind her. Bradley had shot them all a quelling glance. Ariana had heard several whispered comments as the range instructor selected an M-9 pistol for her and ushered his class back to the firing line after they'd collected their own weapons.

By this time, the firing range had begun to fill up as active members of the SGC came in for their own practice time. Bradley had allowed the four men to precede Ariana. The three SFs all achieved more than acceptable scores during their turns. Then Sergeant Metcalf had swaggered up to the firing line. After beating the scores of the other men, the marine had turned to sneer at Ariana. "Now let's see how you measure up, Sweetheart."

The range instructor had given her an encouraging smile. "You say you've done this before, Dr. Farrell. Let's just see how you do before I give you any pointers. Slow and easy, ma'am."

Ariana had smiled back at him, trying to hide her nervousness. "Exactly so, Sergeant Bradley." After checking her weapon and donning ear protectors and shooting glasses, she had faced the target, feet shoulder width apart, gun gripped in both hands. Regulating her breathing, she'd raised the M-9 and squeezed off sixteen shots of her own. Taking a step back, she'd checked the pistol and put it down with its slide secured, saying "Weapon clear, Master Sergeant."

Bradley had retrieved the target, gazing at it thoughtfully. There had been only one hole anywhere near the center of the target, but the other fifteen rounds had still hit the paper. At that point, Ariana had almost jumped out her skin when a low feminine chuckle behind her was followed by, "Not bad for a civilian, eh Master Sergeant?"

Ariana had looked behind her to find Major Carter sharing a small grin with Bradley. "Not bad all, ma'am."

Caught up in the memory, Ariana realized that she was smiling. Yes, she thought as she drifted off, today had turned out all right.

**ooOOoo**

"Ariana managed to hit the target all sixteen times with the M-9. When Bradley asked her about it, she just shrugged and said that she'd had a bodyguard growing up who'd shown her how to shoot." Carter laughed as she related the story to Daniel and Teal'c the next morning. The two scientists had arrived at the base early in the hopes of getting a head start on what promised to be a rather busy day and were chatting with their fellow team member over breakfast in an almost empty commissary.

Daniel grinned. "Nana spent a lot of her time growing up in countries where she had to have protection. That should bring the reputation of the department up a few notches - lord knows we need all the help we can get."

Sam chuckled. "I stuck around while Sergeant Bradley checked her out on a couple of other weapons. She was hopeless with the P90 and the machine guns, but she managed fairly well with the shotgun and almost matched the men's scores on the rifle. By the time they were ready to start the field sims, most of the other recruits were starting to loosen up around her."

Daniel scowled, catching what Sam hadn't said. "Most of the recruits?"

Sam sobered a little. "Sergeant Metcalf hasn't warmed up to Ariana as much as the others, Daniel. Marines take special pride in being the best riflemen in the armed forces, and I guess he didn't like the fact that a civilian had scored so well with his weapon of choice – though she explained where she'd been living the past few years. Even I know that you need to become pretty proficient with a rifle when you live in the jungle. I spoke with Bradley after the field sims. He's a little worried about Metcalf's reaction to Ariana. They've got hand-to-hand training today."

Teal'c nodded at Carter. "Sergeant Bradley has also spoken of his misgiving with Gunnery Sergeant Williams and myself. He indicated that, while the other trainees seemed to accept Dr. Farrell's presence within their ranks, Sergeant Metcalf seemed rather antagonistic toward her."

Daniel's scowl deepened. "Sam, maybe you and I should stop by the gym this afternoon. You know, just to see how the trainees are coming along. I know Nana can take care of herself, but . . ."

Sam nodded in agreement as Colonel O'Neill walked up to the group, tray in hand. "What's the good Dr. Farrell gotten herself into?" he asked as he seated himself.

Daniel bristled and opened his mouth to reply, but Sam cut him off. "Nothing sir, except offending one of the other trainees by performing too well for a mere civilian."

O'Neill looked at Daniel, eyebrows raised. "Well then, maybe we'll all make an unscheduled visit to the gym this afternoon, Daniel. What do you think?"

**ooOOoo**

Ariana made certain to get to the gym before the rest of her training group. She wanted to have a few words with the hand-to-hand instructors before class started. She saw Teal'c speaking with a marine gunnery sergeant at the end of the facility reserved for floor exercises. She nodded to the two men when she reached them.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

The Jaffa inclined his head. "It is good to see you again, Dr. Farrell."

The other man grinned and held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Gunnery Sergeant Williams. What can we do for you, Dr. Farrell?"

Ariana blushed a little and returned his handshake. "Um… I just wanted to let you know - I've studied martial arts,off and on,for mostof my life. If you'll be a little patient, I should be able to pick up what we do today without too many problems."

Williams nodded. "Good to know. I was going to pair you with me anyway, as we've got an uneven number of trainees in this class. Teal'c will be helping me with the others. You can start stretching if you'd like, Dr. Farrell, while we wait for the rest of the folks to show up."

**ooOOoo**

The remaining members of SG1 sauntered into the gym a short time later to see the new trainees running sparring exercises on the mat at the far end of the room. They walked over to a row of benches along the wall where the leader of SG2, Major Lou Ferretti, was watching the action before him.

Ferretti nodded in greeting. "Your girl's looking pretty good for a civilian, Dr. J."

Daniel smiled. "She's multi-talented, Ferretti. What can I say?"

O'Neill leaned closer to Ferretti. "Is she having any problems with the guys, Lou?"

Ferretti looked at him. "Funny you should ask, Jack. I'd like to tell you no. The lieutenant, Gutierrez, seems to really like her. That marine, though . . . I don't like the way he's been looking at her. Teal'c doesn't seem to either, he just had them switch partners so the jarhead isn't sparring next to her."

Daniel abruptly turned to face the group on the mat, crossing his arms and frowning darkly. O'Neill glanced at his friend's face and said in a low voice, "Easy, Danny. Let's see what happens."

At that moment, Teal'c called a halt to the round. Sergeant Williams pointed at the trainees. "Okay Gutierrez, you switch places with McDaniel. I want to see how Thompson and Metcalf look against each other."

Jack added his own frown to the one on Daniel's face when he realized that the change in partners would result in the marine being next to Dr. Farrell.

Sergeant Williams turned back to Ariana and Teal'c said, "Begin."

As the trainees resumed sparring, Jack kept a close eye on the marine and the civilian. All of a sudden he saw something that made him mutter, "Damn it!" and step forward. Before he could react further, everyone in the room had stopped, shocked into stillness by the expletive that burst from Ariana's mouth.

"_Pinche cabron!_"**1 **Ariana whirled to face the marine sneering at her. "That's it _pendejo_**2** The next time your hand wanders somewhere it's not supposed to be, you're going to lose it!"

Jack glanced at Daniel. The archaeologist returned his stare, but didn't make any moves toward the altercation. Even so, Jack could see the tension vibrating through the other man's frame.

Sergeant Metcalf ran disdainful eyes up and down the woman before him. "Who's gonna stop me, Sugar? You?"

The marine's words seemed to loose a firestorm of response from the other trainees. Teal'c and Airman Thompson were forced to help Williams restrain Sergeant McDaniel and Lieutenant Gutierrez, both of whom were offering to stop Metcalf themselves.

About to add his support in subduing the escalating situation before him, Jack stopped abruptly when he heard his friend say, "Uh oh. Now he's done it."

He turned to look at Daniel and noticed that the archaeologist's posture had relaxed and a small smile now graced his previously tense features. O'Neill glanced around him and noticed that Ferretti and Carter were also staring at Daniel with puzzled expressions. All four of them turned back to the group on the mat.

"_Yob tvoyu mat!_ **3** There are two people in this world who are allowed to call me 'Sugar' and you're not one of them. Permission to teach this gentleman some manners, Gunny." Ariana turned to Williams, fuming.

Williams gazed at Ariana for a moment before nodding. "I think the lesson would be best coming from you, Dr. Farrell." He looked around him. "Clear the floor, people!"

Jack, Ferretti and Carter all looked at each other incredulously. Ferretti voiced what they were all thinking. "What does Gunny think he's doing?"

Daniel grinned and turned to find a seat on the bench where Ferretti had been sitting.

"He's about to let Nana teach the jarhead how to play nice, Ferretti."

The other three found seats on the bench as the trainees cleared the mat, leaving Teal'c, Williams and the two combatants in the middle of the floor. Jack noticed that Teal'c's expression was at its most forbidding. If the civilian was unable to deliver the lesson properly, the colonel had no doubts that Teal'c would see to it in her stead.

Jack turned to his unaccountably cool friend. "So, Daniel. . . Who else besides you is on the list?"

Daniel reddened slightly, but didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Her father calls her 'Sugar'. She considers it demeaning from anyone else." He squirmed slightly under Jack's scrutiny until the latter's attention was captured by the action on the mat.

Williams was addressing the two combatants. "This will be a clean fight. The first one to get three falls wins and the bout is over when I say it is. Full contact is not allowed - is that understood, Metcalf?"

"Sure, Gunny." Turning to face Ariana, he sneered, "Let's see what you've got, Baby."

As Ariana bowed her head to Metcalf, Jack muttered. "If she doesn't bring him up on charges after this, I will." Ferretti and Carter both nodded in agreement.

"Begin!" Williams dropped his hand to start the bout.

The audience held its breath as the two opponents closed in on each other. The differences between the combatants were more apparent now that they were alone on the mat. The marine had several inches and at least 70 pounds on the scientist. This did not seem to concern Dr. Farrell, however. She stood loose-limbed, her face once again under control, waiting for Metcalf's first move.

Major Carter recognized the same look of concentration that she had seen on the scientist's face the day before at the shooting range. She leaned forward, silently musing that things were about to get more interesting.

Metcalf closed on Ariana quickly, obviously trying to catch her off guard and take her down first. Ariana ducked beneath his first grab, coming up to land a solid punch on her opponent's solar plexus. Turning, she delivered a reverse spin kick to the side of Metcalf's face.

Enraged, the man lunged at her. Ariana sidestepped, using the man's own momentum to throw him over her hip. This brought whoops from the watching trainees.

"Way to go, Farrell!" shouted Thompson and McDaniel together.

"I'd stay down if I were you, Metcalf! That only took Farrell what, ten seconds?" taunted Lieutenant Gutierrez from his spot against the wall.

Metcalf growled in rage and renewed his attack in earnest. Ariana blocked his next series of blows, connecting with Metcalf several times as her punches and kicks slipped under his guard. The situation changed in the next second, however, as the marine seemed to finally gain control of his emotions.

Metcalf ducked Ariana's next kick and caught her off-balance, knocking her to the floor with a precisely placed forearm. Several of the onlookers winced in sympathy as they heard the air whoosh from the civilian's lungs. Williams announced, "One and one," as the marine attempted to slam his heel into the woman lying before him.

Ariana moved before the marine's foot could connect. She rolled her weight onto her shoulders, allowing her legs to tangle with those of her opponent. The result was that Sergeant Metcalf suddenly found himself on the floor, wondering how he'd arrived there. Ariana rolled smoothly to her feet and resumed a defensive stance.

"Second fall goes to Dr. Farrell," Williams called.

Jack noticed that, though she was breathing a little heavily, Farrell looked as though she was actually having fun. The colonel shook his head. "She's playing with him. Metcalf may be well-trained, but he's pissed off. He's only made solid contact with her once, and I'll bet he comes away from this with some pretty bruises. Farrell could have taken him after the first fall."

Obviously Sergeant Williams thought the same thing. As Metcalf regained his feet, Williams said, "Finish this, Farrell, so we can get on with our day."

Ariana nodded without speaking. Almost before anyone understood what happened, Ariana had moved, grabbing the marine by the wrist and twisting around his body. Metcalf somersaulted in the air, ending up on the floor with Ariana's left hand around his larynx in a chokehold and right hand poised to deliver a killing strike to his face.

Teal'c spoke up for the first time. "I believe that Sergeant Metcalf has 'had enough,' Dr. Farrell."

Ariana nodded and rose to her feet. "Next time, Sergeant, mind your manners or I won't be as nice."

The onlookers watched as Ariana's fellow trainees surrounded her, clapping her on the back and congratulating her. The mini-celebration continued as O'Neill and the rest approached Williams, who was helping a rather breathless Metcalf to his feet.

"Well, Gunny, do you think the Sergeant has learned his lesson?" O'Neill asked, surveying the wheezing man.

"Stupid bitch! I'm not through with her yet." The man in question muttered.

Williams snapped. "Stand down, Marine! You don't know how close to the line you are right now. I'd shut up if I were you."

O'Neill smiled sweetly. "Oh, it's too late for that, Gunny. Sergeant Metcalf has just earned himself a ticket out of here."

Metcalf gaped. "What? I'm getting thrown out because of that little cunt!"

O'Neill let Ferretti take care of restraining Daniel. Pulling himself to his full height he barked, "That's enough, Sergeant! You will be escorted back to your base quarters where you will remain until such time as your reassignment comes through. This incident will be noted in your record and you may be brought up on further charges if Dr. Farrell sees fit to press them. Now, get out of my sight."

Gesturing to two SFs to escort the stunned marine out of the room, Jack turned back to his companions. "Let's go talk to the lady of the hour."

The four of them, plus Teal'c and Sergeant Williams, joined the newest members of the SGC. Lieutenant Gutierrez was laughing as Thompson and McDaniel asked a blushing Ariana to teach them the curses that she'd used. As they watched, Gutierrez threw his arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair.

"Farrell's our own little _fierabrás_.**4** That'll teach anyone to mess with our Doc."

O'Neill cleared his throat. "Well, Metcalf won't be messing with anyone from now on. I'm afraid he just isn't SGC material."

Upon seeing the new additions to their group, the three military trainees stopped laughing and snapped to attention.

Jack waved his hand. "Oh, at ease people. Dr. Farrell, it looks like you're going to fit in well here. I think the General's going to have a job on his hands deciding which team eventually gets you."

Ferretti grinned at Ariana. "I'm putting dibs on her first, Jack."

The colonel laughed. "We'll see, Ferretti. We'll see."

1. _Fucking bastard!_ Spanish slang  
2. _Asshole_. Spanish slang  
3. _Mother Fucker_. Transliterated Russian slang  
4. _Firebrand, spitfire_. Spanish slang.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Coffee, Chocolate and Confessions**

Carter wandered down the silent halls of the SGC, headed for Daniel's office. It was really late, or really early depending on how you looked at it, but she still had work to do and was desperate for coffee. Even if her friend had gone home, Sam knew how to operate Daniel's coffee maker and where he kept his stash of snacks.

Rounding the corner into Daniel's office, Sam could hear the unmistakable noise of a coffee grinder. Expecting to see her teammate, Sam stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the only female member of the social science department. "Oh, hey Ariana. I thought you were Daniel."

Ariana grinned tiredly. "I don't know why you wouldn't. I am in his office. He left a couple of hours ago to take a nap. Are you on a coffee run?"

Sam nodded. "Daniel always keeps a stash of the good stuff here in his office. Did you find it?"

Ariana shook her head, brandishing the coffee grinder. "Nope, brought my own. But I've got enough here to make a full pot. I'll gladly share."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate it."

Carter watched as Ariana went through the ritual of starting the coffee. With quick efficiency Ariana added the coffee grounds and water before flipping the switch that turned the machine on. The women stood in companionable silence, watching the coffee trickle into the carafe.

Without looking at her companion, Ariana said, "If you're hungry, I've got some goodies in my office. It's just a couple of doors down."

Sam shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I need to take a break anyway."

"What are you working on?" Ariana asked.

"I'm reviewing proposals from the scientific staff. There are several projects on deck that would require my direct involvement, and I'm trying to rank them in order of importance and fit them into my schedule. Fun, huh?"

"Oh, sure. I've been working on the footage from P3X-987 that Daniel brought back with him. He was helping me - or should I say distracting me - so I told him to go get some rest before I surrendered to the urge to smack him."

Sam giggled.

After pouring their coffee, the women made their way to Ariana's office. The ethnobotanist went to a small refrigerator behind her desk and opened it saying, "What would you like, Sam? I've got some cookies and stuff, but my mom sent me this chocolate cheesecake that I really need some help with."

Sam's head popped up. "Homemade chocolate cheesecake?"

Ariana grinned. "Mom sent it as a reward for my new job. The only problem is that it's my favorite dessert and the damn woman knows it. I could eat the whole thing by myself – though I probably shouldn't. Want some?"

Carter nodded enthusiastically and Ariana began digging in a cabinet for paper plates and plastic ware. While the other woman was dishing up cheesecake, Carter looked around with interest, noting the differences between this office and the one they'd just left. Ariana's worktable was just as cluttered as Daniel's usually was, but that was where the similarities ended. The rest of the room was supremely neat.

Sam noticed that the bookcase behind the ethnobotanist's desk contained almost as many photographs as it did books and artifacts. She wandered over to take a look at them. There were several pictures of an older couple that Sam assumed were Ariana's parents. One photo caught her attention and she picked it up to study it more closely. It showed a much younger Ariana laughing up at a handsome man smiling down at her. There was obvious affection between the two and they made a rather striking couple.

Ariana came up next to her, plate in hand. She smiled sadly down at the picture Carter held. "That's Gareth, my husband. This was the last picture taken of us before he was killed."

Sam put the picture back and accepted the plate from Ariana. "I'm sorry."

Ariana shrugged. "So am I, but that's okay. It doesn't bother me to talk about him anymore. We were happy and I wouldn't have traded the four years I had with him for anything."

"How did you meet him?"

Ariana smiled at the memory. "Gareth was a field geologist who worked for my father at BP. I thought he was wonderful, even though he was almost twelve years older than I was. When I was fifteen I told him in a rather dramatic fashion that, if he'd wait for me to finish high school, I'd marry him. We did just that, the week after I graduated."

Sam returned the smile, remembering what it had felt like to be young and in love for the first time. "Your parents didn't have any problem with the age difference?" she asked.

Ariana shook her head. "Nope - 'May/December' relationships run in the family – there's ten years difference in my parents' ages. Besides, once I had my mind set on something they knew that it would be almost impossible for them to change it."

Ariana picked up another frame, handing it to Sam. "Here's one you might be more interested in."

"It's you and Daniel! Wow, you both look so young."

Laughing, Ariana said, "That's because we were. That picture isalmost ten years old."

"Where was this taken? It's beautiful."

Ariana leaned on the corner of her desk. "That was the summer that Daniel and I met. He had taken a couple of his students on a day trip to see the Temple of Kukulcan at Tulum, and invited me to tag along. They were working on a dig at Uxmal, another Mayan site not far from Tulum. I was doing graduate work in the same area; studying _curanderismo_ and midwifery with the modern peoples in the area."

Sam sat on the vacant chair at the worktable. "He mentioned that you'd met in the Yucatan."

Ariana nodded. "That was a fun summer. Daniel kept getting himself into trouble. One time, he had to play midwife to his landlady when a storm kept the doctor from being able to reach the house where Daniel was living. That was when he had me introduce him to some of the local midwives. After liberal doses of the famous Jackson charm, he was actually allowed to attend several births – something that's normally considered taboo for men. I swear that man could charm the wings off an angel."

Sam giggled. "It's those big blue eyes – gets them every time. You know, Daniel still finds himself in situations like that. We visited a planet called Argos several years ago, and he ended up having to deliver a baby inside a Greek temple."

"Typical," Ariana rolled her eyes. "Probably the funniest thing I remember from that summer is the time that Daniel got chased through the village by a rather belligerent billy goat. I've never seen anyone climb a tree so fast! Everyone was laughing so hard, it took half an hour before someone removed the goat so that Daniel could climb back down. That's how he got his nickname, you know. The villagers said that he was as 'fast as a monkey' to have gotten up the tree so quickly." Both women dissolved in helpless giggles at the mental images the story provoked.

Still giggling, Sam said, "That's what makes the colonel's nickname for him even funnier - Daniel hates it."

"Space Monkey? Like... as in... 'Curious George' Space Monkey? It has to be that or the monkey from Space Ghost."

Sam nodded. "The colonel's never really said one way or the other. What's worse is that Daniel has never made either connection. He just keeps asking the colonel to explain it."

This revelation, combined with the lateness of the hour, caused them both to erupt in gales of laughter. Just then a tousled blond head and dazed blue eyes made an appearance in the office doorway.

"What's so funny?" Daniel asked, quizzically.

His only response was increased hilarity and he turned towards his office in disgust muttering, "Women!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - "It's a piece of cake"**

"So, Colonel, now that the new crop of trainees have been evaluated, where should we assign them?" General Hammond looked at his second-in-command curiously.

Whether the colonel would acknowledge it or not, the general was grooming Jack O'Neill to be his replacement. Having the man make these kinds of decisions was good practice - even though the general knew that the colonel hated the tediousness of it all. Still, he was good at it, Hammond noted with some pride.

"Well, sir, we've only got two SG teams with openings at the moment - SG2 and SG6. I like the looks of Lieutenant Gutierrez, but he needs a bit of seasoning. I'd suggest you put him on SG2; Ferretti and his team will see to it that he learns what he needs to."

Hammond nodded his agreement of the colonel's assessment. "And the others?" he asked.

"I'd say give Sergeant McDaniel to SG6. Thompson will be a good team member one day, but he's a little too unsure of himself at the moment. Assign him to the gateroom defense team, sir. That should give him a boost."

"What about Dr. Farrell?"

Jack paused before answering. "As much as I hate to say it sir, I think she should go to SG2. Potter's going to be transferred out in a couple of months and Ferretti will be shy another team member. I'm sure he's already let you know that he wants her."

Hammond grinned. "Yes, both Major Ferretti and Colonel Pierson of SG4 have made their wishes concerning Dr. Farrell's assignment well known to me."

Jack grinned. "Pierson's been bothering you, too, huh?"

The general's smile was the only response he needed. Jack continued his previous line of thought. "There's only one problem with putting Farrell on SG2, sir... I don't think it would be a good idea to saddle Ferretti with two newbies at the same time."

"What do you recommend then, Colonel?"

"I say give Gutierrez to Ferretti now, while Potter's still here. Farrell can join them after he transfers out. In the meantime, Farrell can go out with SG1 to start getting her feet wet. That'll give Teal'c and me a chance to evaluate her in the field and Daniel and Carter can help her with the other stuff."

"That's a sound plan, Colonel. However, why don't we hold off on giving Major Ferretti the good news? He can stew a little while longer, I think."

**ooOOoo**

"Hey Doc, mind some company?"

Ariana looked up from her food to see Lieutenant Gutierrez smiling down at her. "Hi Jess. No I don't mind," she said, gesturing to the seat across from her.

"I heard about SG2 - congratulations, Lieutenant," she smiled.

"Thanks. I'm pretty pumped. Major Ferretti's been here almost as long as Colonel O'Neill. Have you heard where they're assigning you?"

Ariana shook her head. "Not permanently. They want me to go out with SG1 for a month or so, and then they'll decide which team I'll fit in with the best."

"Wow! Aren't you nervous?" Gutierrez asked.

"Why - because they're considered the best around here? Not really. I'm more excited than anything else. Look, Jess, I've worked in some pretty dangerous places. I figure going off-world is a little like working in the Amazon for the first time - you have potentially dangerous indigenous people with completely different customs and languages in environments that are at the same time beautiful and capable of hiding a multitude of dangers."

"She's absolutely right, you know," said a new voice behind them. Ariana and Gutierrez looked up to see Daniel standing at their table.

"May I join you?" he gestured with the tray in his hands.

"Sure. Daniel, this is Lieutenant Jesse Gutierrez, the newest member of SG2. Jess, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson, archaeologist, linguist and all-around troublemaker for SG1," Ariana introduced the two men, grinning when Daniel paused in shaking the lieutenant's hand at her description.

"Dr. Farrell, do I need to tell the lieutenant about the time that you ended up in Belize instead of Mexico by mistake?" Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows inquiringly.

"Alright, I surrender! I promise to show you the respect due your position - and advanced age," Ariana laughed unrepentantly.

Daniel shook his head at her in mock sadness. He turned to Gutierrez, who was eyeing them curiously. "If you haven't figured it out already, Lieutenant, I've known Dr. Farrell for some time. For reasons which seem to be escaping me at the moment I recommended her for this position."

"Oh Danny, you know you love me," Ariana winked.

**ooOOoo**

"P7J-325 appears to be a temperate planet with no obvious signs of current inhabitants. The gate is located near a rather spectacular waterfall. The UAV survey seems to indicate that this planet should be a likely source for either naquadah or trinium, if not both." Sam scrolled through several sets of graphics demonstrating the aerial reconnaissance gathered by the UAV.

Jack looked up from his briefing notes. "Should be an easy in-and-out survey mission, General."

General Hammond nodded. "Agreed. SG1, you leave for P7J-325 at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed."

As everyone stood to leave, the general turned to Ariana. "Good luck on your first mission, Dr. Farrell."

Ariana smiled at him. "Thank you, sir; I'm looking forward to it."

**ooOOoo**

Ariana arrived at the gateroom early the next morning. She had almost been too excited to sleep the night before, and had been at the base since 0630, checking and rechecking her equipment. Sam smiled at her as she entered, waving Ariana over to where she was standing next to the colonel and Teal'c, who were supervising the final loading of their equipment on the Field Remote Expeditionary Device, or FRED as they called it.

"Hey Ariana. Ready to go?" asked Sam.

Ariana nodded, grinning. "As I'll ever be, I guess."

The colonel turned when he heard her voice. "It's a piece of cake, Farrell - you'll see."

Sam rolled her eyes and Ariana grinned in response. Jack motioned her to him with a jerk of his head. "Come here, so I can check your gear."

Ariana did as she was told, torn between being amused and impressed at the amount of time the colonel spent checking every piece of her gear and clothing, making sure that all of it was working and in its correct place. She did smile, though, when the man knelt down to check her bootlaces - which she'd tied in double-knots.

"Hmph. You'll do. Hand me your pack so I can make sure the straps on your vest are set right."

Ariana handed him the item he'd requested. The colonel hefted it to the quick-release clips on the back of her field vest.

"What've you got in here, Farrell? It feels funny – the weight's off," Jack complained.

"Nothing really heavy, Colonel; just my gear, sampling equipment and a few extra medical supplies that I hope we won't need."

"Medical supplies? We've all got first-aid kits, Farrell."

Ariana nodded. "I know you do, Colonel. Dr. Fraiser and I have decided to add a few things to mine as a sort of experiment. She wants to tweak the contents of the team medics' kits a bit so she's using me as a guinea pig. Besides, Colonel, I've read your mission reports - SG1 seems to get hurt a lot. Major Carter may need the extra help."

At the colonel's snort she added. "I am a doctor, sir, and I have a different sort of experience with field medicine than the rest of you. I'm just trying to help Dr. Fraiser make things safer for you and the other teams."

"Well, if you end up with too many samples, don't expect me to carry your pack if you get tired, Farrell," Jack groused.

She grinned at him. "Don't worry, Colonel, you won't need to."

At that moment Daniel wandered into the gateroom. Jack looked around and motioned to Sergeant Davis in the control room. "Dial her up, Sergeant."

Daniel stood next to Ariana as the gate started to turn. She smiled at him broadly, her excitement shining on her face. He returned it with one of his own and squeezed her shoulder. The event horizon whooshed into existence and Daniel moved his hand to the small of her back.

"Okay, Sugar, let's do this."

**ooOOoo**

Jack gazed at the waterfall crashing over the cliffs next to the stargate. The immense power of the water as it rushed to meet the river below was impressive and more than a little mesmerizing. He noticed that he wasn't the only one caught by the roar of the thing; Ariana was standing near the edge of the cliff, studying the prismatic display of colors caused by the mist rising from the falling water.

Jack took the opportunity to study the scientist after he decided that she wasn't too close to the cliff edge. Ariana seemed to know exactly where 'safe' was, he noticed. Throughout the day he'd kept an eye on her, searching for any weaknesses that needed to be addressed. It was obvious to him that the doctor was quite comfortable being in the field. Ariana had kept up with the pace he'd set without complaint, not lagging behind, even when she'd stopped to take samples of the flora they'd encountered.

Jack decided that it was time to call Ariana back from the edge of the waterfall; even though he knew she was fine, Jack's protective instincts demanded that he not let her tempt the fates too long with her safety. He walked up behind her and tapped her lightly on the arm to get her attention - this close to the falls, it was impossible to hear anything softer than a shout. Ariana turned to him with a smile and followed him back to the camp.

**ooOOoo**

Jack woke to a dawn that was bright and surprisingly cool. Carter and Ariana had together surmised that it was early spring on the planet, based on several factors that Jack hadn't really bothered listening to. He figured that they were probably correct. Exiting the tent he'd shared with Daniel and Teal'c, he was surprised to see Ariana huddled in front of a roaring fire, staring at the coffeepot with empty eyes.

The ethnobotanist made no move to acknowledge his presence as Jack lowered himself to the ground beside her. "You know, glaring at it won't make the water heat any faster," he offered cheerfully.

"Hmph..."

No movement, just the grunt. Jack decided that he would just sit back and watch. Several minutes had passed in quiet contemplation when he heard the rustling of a tent flap behind him. A silent and rumpled Daniel appeared at the fireside to join them in staring at the recalcitrant coffeepot.

Ariana seemed to reach some sort of decision and grabbed the coffeepot and three mugs. Reaching into her jacket she pulled out what looked like individually wrapped tea bags. Putting one in each mug, she carefully added the boiling water. When she handed a mug to him and Daniel, Jack was mildly surprised to smell the aroma of coffee rather than the tea he'd been expecting. Rather good coffee, he discovered upon taking his first sip.

Daniel's voice broke the silence. "Costa Rican?"

"Uh huh. Café Britt's Tarrazú Montecielo."

"They speak!" said Jack, amused by the coherence of the words coming from the previously zombie-like scientists. Daniel and Ariana looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. Their expressions were so identical that Jack guffawed.

"You two are scary - you realize that, right?"

"Jaaack..." said Daniel in his 'what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about' voice.

"Daaannniel. You. Farrell. Your dependency on coffee. It's scary," he explained slowly, so as not to tax their slowly awakening brains.

Ariana grinned in acknowledgment of the truth of the colonel's statement. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Does Teal'c drink coffee, Colonel?"

"I do not generally consume caffeine, Dr. Farrell," answered the man himself. The Jaffa was obviously returning from a sweep of the camp perimeter - he never minded taking the last watch.

Ariana got up to dig in her pack. "Well, Teal'c, I've got sometea that's not caffeinated. Would you like some?"

"Indeed. My thanks, Dr. Farrell," Teal'c said, inclining his head.

Ariana prepared his drink and took it to him. Tossing another coffee packet to Daniel she said, "Here, Monkey, make yourself useful - I'm going to see if Sam's ready to get up."

Jack snorted and Teal'c elevated an eyebrow as Daniel cringed. "Naannaa!" the archaeologist complained to his friend.

She stopped dead in her tracks. "Oops! Sorry, Danny, I know I promised not to call you that anymore."

The sound of the colonel's laughter greeted Carter as she poked her head around the tent flap. "What did I miss?"

Ariana blushed scarlet and said, "Nothing. Come on out - we've got coffee for you."

**ooOOoo**

"Let's head down river today. This monster has to narrow at some point. Carter, are you sure that we really need to get to the otherside?" said Jack as they prepared to leave camp a short time later.

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir. Based on the UAV survey, any trinium and naquadah deposits on the planet are most likely to be on the other side of the river."

Jack sighed and hoisted his P90 and attached it to his harness. "Okay then, kids, let's move out. I'll take point. Teal'c, watch our six."

They traveled for several miles downstream of the waterfall, the cliffs decreasing in height above the river at a fairly rapid rate. Now, at what looked to be the narrowest point of the river they'd reached so far, appeared the first evidence that the planet had indeed been inhabited at one time. Spanning the river now only forty feet below them was a suspension bridge, its metal cords shining in the afternoon sun.

"Whoa," breathed Jack.

"You said it, sir," replied Carter, looking at the sight before them. Carter approached the bridge cautiously, peering closely at the footings of the structure. "Colonel, this appears to be made of trinium."

"Well, that supports your theory that there's trinium here, Sam," said Daniel.

"Indeed," said Teal'c, walking over to inspect the bridge himself.

"Do you think it'll hold us, Carter?" Jack asked.

Carter nodded. "I think so, sir. Trinium's pretty indestructible and the bridge footings look secure."

"Jaaack?" asked Daniel tentatively.

"We need to get to the other side, Daniel. This bridge was put here for a reason - it may be the only way across."

"Okay," replied the archaeologist in a small voice.

Jack turned to his teammate. "Don't worry, Daniel. Carter and Farrell can hold your hands when we cross."

Daniel glowered. "That won't be necessary, Jack. Thanks for the offer, though,"

"No problem," Jack responded brightly.

The bridge was narrow enough that it required they traverse the span in single file. Jack led the way, followed by Farrell, Daniel and Carter, with Teal'c bringing up the rear. Jack had made it halfway across the gently swaying structure when the first tiny lurch stopped him in his tracks. The rest of the team stopped as well, puzzled. When Jack felt the second lurch, he spun around.

Waving his arm frantically, Jack shouted, "It's coming loose! Run!"

Teal'c and Carter had made it back to the safety of the cliff's edge when Jack felt the bridge give way completely. "Hold on!" he shouted.

The world seemed to tilt crazily for a few seconds as the bridge came crashing against the near cliff face. Trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him, he looked up. Both Daniel and Ariana were still attached to the bridge like limpets. Their tenuous perch lurched again and Jack realized that the other end of the bridge was coming loose as well.

"Daniel! Climb - now!" he ordered.

The archaeologist started scrambling up the vertical bridge as though it was a ladder, Ariana not far behind. Jack could see Teal'c and Carter reaching out to grab Daniel's arms to pull him to safety. Suddenly Ariana cried out, "Get out of the way! It's gonna take you with it!"

The last things that Jack registered as the bridge finally gave way were the looks of horror on his teammates' faces and Daniel's tortured cry of "NO!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Of Colonels and Scientists**

Jack regained consciousness with a decided lack of enthusiasm. His entire body hurt. What had woken him? There it was again. A small tap on his cheek, followed by his name.

"Jack. . . . Jack? Come on, Colonel, wake up. We need to move."

Jack opened his eyes to see a rather damp Ariana staring down at him. She helped him sit up and Jack reached out to steady himself as the world spun. Bad idea - he swallowed an involuntary whimper as his weight came down on his left arm. Ariana grabbed him before he fell over.

Cradling the offending limb to his chest, he panted, "I think it's broken."

Ariana nodded her head in rueful agreement. "I think you may be right. If you can get up, I'll take a look at it. Both of our radios are out - we're going to have to hole up for the night. I found a cave up near the tree line."

Jack nodded and accepted the scientist's help to stand, only to discover that he'd also injured his bad knee. The resulting pain made him dizzy enough that he needed her guidance and she draped his unhurt arm over her shoulders. The walk to the cave was a study in concentration for Jack, but he did notice Ariana's harsh breathing when she settled him against the cave wall.

Ariana unhooked the pack that was miraculously still attached to her vest and paused to cough harshly, a look of pain crossing her face as she did so.

"Farrell, are you alright?" Jack asked. Experience told him that he had a pretty severe concussion to go along with his other injuries, but he'd had worse and lived. The ethnobotanist, on the other hand, was his responsibility and he needed to know how badly she was hurt. Jack tried to concentrate on Ariana's face, but it kept wavering in and out of focus in time with the waves of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I think I may have cracked a couple of ribs," she shrugged, wheezing. "I'm okay."

Ariana straightened. "Try to get comfortable, Jack, I'll be right back. I'm going to get a fire started."

Jack wanted to tell her to stay where she was but had to concentrate on subduing the next wave of nausea. His last sight before the spinning darkness and pain overtook him was Ariana silhouetted by the setting sun in the mouth of the cave.

**ooOOoo**

When Jack next woke, he found Ariana sorting through the contents of her pack by the light of a roaring fire. He groaned slightly as he shifted position, causing her to turn in his direction.

"Oh good, I was just about to wake you again. Let's get that jacket off so that I can look at your arm. Once we've taken care of that I'll move on to your knee."

"What, you're not gonna shine your damn light in my eyes, too?" Jack asked; the words out of his mouth before he could stop himself. _Stupid concussion_, he thought, through the rhythmic throbbing of his head.

Ariana stared at him for a moment before replying, "Why? Do you want me to?"

Jack grunted. "No not really."

Ariana gave a small cough and smiled. "Good. I already know you're concussed; you were unconscious the entire time I was examining your skull and I can tell that your pupils are unequal from here. There's no need to torture you unnecessarily with my penlight."

Ariana helped him to a sitting position and with the judicious use of a pair of scissors from her med kit they were able to finally remove his jacket. Jack hissed as she probed his arm at the break. The scientist winced in sympathy and looked up at him.

"Sorry, Jack, I know that hurt. It looks like you've got a transverse fracture of both the radius and ulna. I'm not happy about the swelling in your hand - it means that the blood supply's being compromised. I'm going to have to set this now. Unfortunately, with your concussion, I really don't want to give you any morphine. I can give you some Percocet, but that won't kick in for a bit. We're going to have to do this cold."

He nodded. "Just do it and get it over with, Farrell."

Gathering the necessary supplies the ethnobotanist placed them within easy reach and took a calming breath. Then Ariana grabbed the colonel's wrist and, applying steady pressure, manipulated his arm until the bones realigned themselves while Jack concentrated on keeping his groan from becoming a scream. Taking a piece of what looked like stiff yellow foam, she folded it in half and molded the splint to his arm, securing it with an ace bandage. She produced a sling from somewhere in her pack and helped him into it. At her request Jack wiggled his fingers and Ariana sat back, satisfied with her handiwork.

"Well, Farrell," Jack panted, "Now I do believe you're a doc - you're definitely better than Carter at setting bones. Was this stuff in your modified goody bag?" Jack motioned at the splint.

Ariana nodded, handing him a couple of painkillers and her canteen. "Uh huh. Redi-splints are easy to carry and can be used to splint just about anything. Here's your Percocet. If you don't pass out again, I'll give you something stronger if you need it later."

Jack swallowed the pills obediently as Ariana turned her attention to his injured knee. She unlaced the boot and released the hook on the boot band around his pants leg before using her scissors to slice the material up past his knee.

"Doesn't look too bad," Jack commented on seeing his knee. It throbbed in time with reggae band in his head and was red and swollen looking, but his kneecap seemed to be where it was supposed to be – always a good sign, Jack knew.

Ariana carefully manipulated the area, feeling both sides of the knee as well as the back. Jack jerked slightly as she touched the back of his knee and she looked up at him sharply, a question on her face.

"Sorry," Jack muttered, face reddening slightly. "I'm a little ticklish there."

Ariana raised an eyebrow, Teal'c-like, and grinned slightly. "Good to know."

Her expression became more serious as she continued her examination of the colonel's knee. "So, Doc, what's the prognosis?" Jack asked. "Am I gonna make it?"

"Well, Jack, you obviously hit your knee on the same rocks that I managed to become so well acquainted with. You've got a nice case of acute onset bursitis, with all of the accompanying pain and edema."

"And?"

Ariana frowned. "And you're going to need to be able to use that leg to get out of here tomorrow."

"_Ya think_?" Jack snapped and then sighed. "Sorry. So what do we do."

Ariana sat back, mentally reviewing the contents of her med kit. "I think a shot of hydrocortisone and several rounds of ice packs should get the swelling down enough that you'll be mobile by tomorrow morning."

Jack grimaced. "Oh swell. That's gonna hurt like a bitch."

Ariana graced him with a small smile. "It won't be that bad, Jack. I've got some lidocaine that I can mix with the hydrocortisone – that should alleviate most of the pain."

"Okay, then I guess you'd better get on with it. Poke away, Farrell."

Ariana disinfected the skin with an alcohol wipe, prepared a syringe and efficiently injected the mixture into the muscles around the colonel's knee. Almost before he knew it, the procedure was over and Jack was holding a newly activated cold pack to his knee as Ariana elevated his leg on a pile made of both their vests.

Just as Jack was starting to relax, Ariana turned back to her med kit and began to fill another syringe. "What's that?" he asked warily. He watched as the ethnobotanist cum doctor pulled down her waistband to expose her flank. After using another alcohol wipe, she injected herself before replying.

"Penicillin. You and I swallowed half of that river we just went swimming in. That puts us at risk for developing pneumonia. You're next, Jack," she said, filling a new syringe for him.

Jack grumbled, but rolled to the side so that Ariana could give him the injection. "You're as bad as Fraiser, that woman's always mistaking me for a pin cushion."

Ariana tried to giggle, but it turned into a coughing fit. Jack looked on helplessly, rubbing her back with his good hand. His concern grew when he noticed the blood on her hands. "You are definitely not okay, Farrell."

She sighed cautiously. "Damn! I guess slamming into that big boulder in the river wasn't such a good idea, huh?"

"We need to get back across," Jack said.

Ariana nodded. "I'm afraid you're right. It's not going to be fun, though. The river doesn't look very deep here, but the bank on the other side is pretty steep."

"We'll figure it out in the morning. For now, we need to try and get some rest." When Ariana looked like she would argue, Jack frowned.

"That's an order, Farrell."

She grinned at him weakly. "You can't give me orders, Jack. I'm a civilian, remember?"

Jack shook his head. "You're as bad as Daniel. What happened to calling me 'Colonel?"

"I've decided it doesn't suit you. It'll have to be Jack - unless I can come up with something better."

"Why does that sound like a threat?" Jack wondered aloud.

"Oh..." Ariana groaned, clutching her side. "Don't make me laugh."

"Sorry. Come here," Jack motioned her over to where he was reclining against her pack. "You're not going to be able to sleep lying flat with those ribs and it got pretty cold last night."

He positioned Ariana so that she was sharing the pack with him, her back leaning against his chest. Wrapping his good arm around her, he settled her head on his shoulder.

"Jack?"

"Try to sleep, Farrell. Like I told Carter once... it's just my sidearm."

"You promised not to make me laugh..." she accused.

"Sorry. What?" he asked.

"They will be looking for us won't they, Jack?"

"Carter, Daniel and Teal'c? Sure they will - we don't leave our people behind, Farrell. Besides - Daniel's going to want a chance to gloat."

"Huh?"

Jack laughed tiredly. "He's usually the one that gets hurt."

**ooOOoo**

Ariana looked up the cliff face before them while Jack finished tying them together with the rope that the ethnobotanist had produced from her seemingly bottomless pack. The colonel found himself wishing for the rope that had been in his pack, but realized that one rope was better than none. Jack once again thanked the fates that the scientist's gear had managed to accompany them on their unplanned trip down-river.

After a rather uncomfortable night in the cave during which neither of them had slept, they'd crossed the river at first light without too much difficulty. Several rounds of cold packs during the night had combined with the effects of the hydrocortisone shot to reduce the swelling of Jack's knee considerably and his arm throbbed only when he moved it, rather than constantly. His 'pickaxe-to-the-brain' headache had also subsided enough that Ariana decided a small dose of morphine wouldn't hurt. She'd given him an injection before crossing the river, just to blunt the edge of his pain. Watching Ariana closely, Jack thought that the ethnobotanist could use a dose herself.

When he suggested as much to her, however, Ariana vetoed the idea. "Can't - I'm allergic to morphine. Besides, I've already taken half a dose of Percocet. The oxycodone in it is a cough suppressant, but it can also depress your breathing - something I don't exactly need right now. I'll take some more later."

The admission worried Jack. Ariana was still in a lot more pain than she would admit - even with the meds. He squared his shoulders and gestured toward the cliff face.

"Let's do this, then. Ladies first."

Ariana picked her way through the tumble of rocks at the base of the cliff and started her slow ascent. The going was slow, but the climb wasn't too difficult, something for which she was immensely grateful. If it had been, neither one of them would have been able to even attempt the ascent.

As she climbed, Ariana thought about the man struggling along below her. The colonel had been a tower of strength, despite his injuries. Contrary to all of the stories Janet Fraiser had regaled her with, Jack had not complained all that much. Ariana thought it might be due to the fact that the colonel was worried about her. Jack had held her during every coughing fit she'd had the night before and subjected to all of her examinations without a word. Now, though Ariana knew he was still in pain, Jack was making her lead the way - protecting her in spite of his own limitations.

Ariana dragged herself over the lip of the cliff edge, turning to anchor her rope around a convenient tree to keep the tension steady as Jack continued his tortuous climb. He finally made it to the top, grunting with the effort as she helped him over the edge. Jack looked at Ariana wryly as they both sat panting for breath.

"Told you all this was a piece of cake."

**ooOOoo**

Several hours later Jack indicated that it was time for another rest break. His last dose of morphine was wearing off and he was certain that Ariana's Percocet was as well. Easing himself to the ground, Jack fumbled with the pack that he'd been carrying for the last couple of hours. He'd teased the scientist for getting hurt just so that he'd have to carry her pack but in reality he was glad to have it with them.

Fishing out the bottle of Percocet one-handed, Jack shook it at Ariana. "Time for your next dose, Farrell."

The ethnobotanist shook her head, wheezing slightly. "Can't, Jack... Having a little trouble breathing. Just give me the Ibuprofen."

He frowned at her but did as she asked, replacing the Percocet and handing her several packets of Ibuprofen.

Ariana took two of the 500-mg pills and looked at the colonel questioningly. "Do you want some of these instead of the morphine or Percocet?"

Jack nodded and swallowed the proffered pills dry. "I'll take these over the hard stuff any day, Farrell."

"Bad experience?" she asked softly.

"Yep. Not one that I ever want to repeat," he replied shortly. He fiddled with the sling holding his splinted arm. He looked up in surprise at the light touch on his shoulder. Ariana smiled at him in gentle understanding. She motioned to the sling.

"Let me take a look at that before we go, Jack."

Jack was glad she'd changed the subject. Watching her check the wrappings on his arm he had a disturbing thought.

"Damn!"

"What?" Ariana asked, looking up at him.

"I was gonna go fishing next week. Guess that's out of the question now, though."

"You like to fish?"

Jack shrugged. "Sure. I have a cabin up in Minnesota with its own lake. Not that I ever catch anything, but that's okay."

"My dad always says that the act of fishing itself is what's important - it doesn't matter if you catch anything. . . What?" Ariana trailed off when she saw the look on his face.

"Never mind… I think I'd like your dad," Jack shook his head. "Hey, would you like to go sometime? Nobody else ever wants to come with me."

"Sure, as long as you don't expect me to bait my own hook."

**ooOOoo**

"I've got it," Ariana wheezed a short time later.

"What?" Jack huffed.

They were slogging painfully along through the undergrowth lining that part of the cliffs, Jack trying to find the easiest path. He peered at the area around them wondering if it looked familiar, or if he was just imagining things.

"Fearless. . . "

"Huh?"

"As in 'Fearless Leader'. . . You know - your new nickname..." Ariana waved her hand distractedly, concentrating on where she was putting her feet.

"Hmph. I guess it's better than Space Monkey."

Ariana pressed a hand to her side and winced. "I thought you promised not to make me laugh! You know he still hasn't figured it out?"

"Have you?" he asked, suspicious of a trap.

"Curious George Gets a Medal or Space Ghost?"

"Pick one, Farrell," Jack chuckled. "Are you gonna tell Daniel?"

"Are you kidding me? It's more fun to watch him trying to figure it out," she snorted.

The snort turned abruptly into a coughing fit that brought her to her knees. Jack kneeled awkwardly beside her, his concern increasing as the attack showed no signs of ending. He cradled her to him, wiping the blood from her face with his good hand.

"What do I do, Farrell?" he asked.

She could only shake her head at him, the paroxysms that wracked her body robbing her of speech. He could see the fear he felt reflected in her dark eyes as she struggled to breathe.

"Farrell!" Jack shouted as she slumped unconscious in his arms. "Damn it, Nana, don't do this to me..." he said, frantically searching for a pulse. He found one, faint and thready, but she wasn't breathing. Jack tilted her head back and started rescue breathing, ignoring the twinges in his broken arm as he used it to hold her chin. After two breaths he sat back and rechecked her pulse, waiting to see if she would breathe on her own.

"Come on, Farrell, breathe!" he yelled, moving back to resume the mouth-to-mouth. As he breathed deep for a second breath, he heard his name being called in the distance.

"Over here - hurry!"

It seemed to Jack that it took the people who'd shouted his name forever to reach him. His world was centered on the woman lying so still on the ground before him. Jack was silently chanting to himself, _two breaths, check for pulse, see if she breathes - do it all again_. He was startled when a hand touched his arm.

"Colonel, you can stop now - we've got it."

Jack looked up into the serious eyes of Janet Fraiser. He let her guide him to his feet as the medics of SG8 took his former position at the ethnobotanist's side.

"Doc?"

"What happened, Colonel? I need to know," Fraiser looked worried.

Jack shook his head numbly. "She broke several ribs, was coughing up blood. She started coughing a few minutes ago and couldn't stop. She passed out - wasn't breathing."

Janet nodded and turned to her patient. Jack started violently as a member of SG8 touched his sleeve. "Let me take a look at you, Colonel."

Jack pushed the man's hand away irritably. "I'm okay, Sergeant. Farrell's got me all patched up till we get home. Take care of her."

"Are you okay, Jack?" Jack gazed into the worried eyes of Daniel and the rest of his team. The archaeologist was white under his tan, gripping his friend's arm to steady him as he swayed on his feet.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy. Tired."

Before anyone could reply, Janet was beside them. The doctor looked worried. "She's breathing on her own, but we need to get her back to the infirmary as soon as possible. She's got a pneumothorax; I've decompressed the lung but I need to put in a proper chest tube and I can't do that here."

The trip back to the gate was a nightmare. They had to stop twice to administer mouth-to-mouth to the unconscious scientist, Fraiser's face growing graver after each stop. No one spoke, each of them listening for the labored breathing clearly audible from the stretcher. Jack could have sworn that they covered the last mile to the gate at almost a run. He was determined to keep up so he just gritted his teeth and maintained the grueling pace with a little help from Daniel, who slung his CO's uninjured arm around his shoulders. Carter actually did run ahead to dial the gate so that they could immediately go through.

Dr. Fraiser and the men carrying the stretcher stopped on the other side of the gate only long enough to transfer their patient to a gurney. As they exited the gateroom, Dr. Fraiser yelled over her shoulder, "Bring Colonel O'Neill to the infirmary."

**ooOOoo**

General Hammond found SG1 in the infirmary. They were clustered around their team leader, trying to look as though they were unconcerned about what was happening at the other end of the ward, where a flurry of activity could be heard in one of the critical care rooms.

The colonel was complaining vociferously to Dr. Warner, who was applying a cast to his arm. "You didn't have to x-ray my arm – or my knee. I told you Farrell set it for me and took care of my knee last night."

"Dr. Farrell did an excellent job of setting your arm, Colonel. We just needed to make certain that the bones hadn't moved during your trip back to the gate. As for your knee, I'm sure it's sore, but the hydrocortisone Dr. Farrell gave you should do the trick; with rest it should be fine in a few days," Dr. Warner said soothingly.

"And I don't need any more stupid shots, either," continued the colonel, a stubborn set to his jaw. "Farrell said that we could catch pneumonia because of the swim we took, so she gave both of us penicillin."

Dr. Warner looked faintly surprised. "She did? When?"

"One dose yesterday and then another one again this morning," said Jack.

"I take it that was the correct protocol for the situation?" Daniel asked, curious.

Dr. Warner nodded. "That's exactly what needed to be done. Bacterial pneumonia is a complication that can result from exactly the type of situation the colonel and Dr. Farrell faced."

Jack shrugged. "She looked like she knew what she was doing. Farrell said that the doc didn't like the supplies we carry in our regular med kits, so she and Fraiser threw in some extra stuff as a sort of experiment. Where do you think I got that nifty splint and sling from?"

Dr. Warner looked even more surprised than before. "I thought that Dr. Fraiser or someone from SG8 had given you that for the trip back to the SGC."

Jack shook his head. "Nope. Farrell just kept pulling crap out of that pack of hers - splints, slings, cold packs, meds, ropes. We wouldn't have gotten as far as we did if she hadn't managed to somehow keep her gear."

"Any word on Dr. Farrell's status, Dr. Warner?" the general asked, worriedly.

The doctor shook his head. "Sorry, sir. Dr. Fraiser's team is still working to get her stabilized. With blunt force chest trauma like that, it can be really touch and go."

Jack looked at his CO. "We had to climb up a cliff and hike for several miles before the rescue team reached us, sir. Farrell started coughing up blood last night. I should have waited for the rescue team to find us - it's my fault if anything happens to her."

Dr. Warner interjected before the general could reply. "You're wrong, Colonel. Dr. Farrell would have known what her symptoms meant. She knew that she needed to get back to the SGC as quickly as possible. You both did exactly what was necessary."

At that moment, Janet emerged from the critical care unit. Daniel stepped to Jack's side and gripped his shoulder tightly. Jack wasn't sure if the archaeologist was giving support or asking for it. He reached up and squeezed his friend's hand in silent understanding.

"How is she, Janet?" asked Carter, obviously the only one of them brave enough to voice the question.

Dr. Fraiser sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, she's stabilized. We were able to insert a chest tube and re-expand the collapsed lung . If she doesn't develop pneumonia or any secondary infections, she should be okay."

"May we see her?" this was from Daniel, whose grip on Jack's shoulder had not lessened.

Fraiser looked at him for a moment before replying. "She was asking about the colonel, but you can go in with him, I suppose. Just a few minutes, mind you."

"Teal'c and I will come back later and check on both of you, sir," said Carter. The Jaffa nodded his agreement and the two of them left.

"I'm glad you're alright, Colonel. Dr. Fraiser, please keep me informed of any changes in Dr. Farrell's condition," General Hammond smiled at his 2IC and nodded in the doctor's direction before he, too, left the infirmary.

Janet motioned the two men to follow her and they left Dr. Warner's nurse cleaning up the detritus of making Jack's cast. They entered the critical care unit, aware of the nurses bustling about quietly, checking monitors and making notes on charts. The pallor of the face lying on the pillow struck both Jack and Daniel - its normal peachy hue almost matched the white of the bed linens.

They each took one side of the bed, careful not to get tangled in any of the wires or tubes coming from the still form. As if she could sense their presence, Ariana stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled weakly when she saw both men, her large dark eyes like bruises in the paleness of her face.

Daniel perched himself on the edge of her bed, careful not to disturb anything. Taking Ariana's hand in his, he smiled at her gently. "Hey, Sugar, how are you feeling?"

"Like dancing," she croaked.

Her reply made both men laugh. Ariana turned to Jack and whispered, "O-kay?"

Jack gave her a small smile. "Right as rain, Farrell. Doc Warner managed not to undo all your good work and didn't even stick me in the butt with his needles. What do you think of the color?" he asked, waving the fiberglass cast in her direction.

"Red's. . . my favorite. . . "

Janet cleared her throat. "Time's up, gentlemen. Ariana needs to rest."

Ariana looked at the doctor imploringly. "Stay?" she whispered, tightening her grasp on Daniel's hand.

Fraiser gazed at them and sighed. "Oh, alright. I'll have some food sent up for you. But, you have to promise me you'll rest, Ariana, or I'll kick them out."

"We promise."

"Scout's honor, Doc."

"Promise. . . "

They all spoke at once. Janet just rolled her eyes and left the room, trying to suppress a grin.

**ooOOoo**

None of Ariana's visitors ever gave Janet, or any of her staff, cause to throw them out of the infirmary, though there was a steady stream of them during the ethnobotanist's weeklong stay. The members of SG1 were the most frequent guests, but others came to visit her as well. The general stopped in to check on the scientist at least once a day - he seemed to have developed a soft spot for his fellow Texan. Also, the CO and other members of SG2 dropped in to see her on several occasions.

This last set of visitors piqued Janet's interest the most. There seemed to be a little infighting going on as to whom the good scientist actually "belonged." Word had traveled through the SGC grapevine that the scientist would be permanently assigned to SG2, once her wounds were healed and her rotation with the flagship team had ended. However, SG1 seemed to feel that they had the most claims to Ariana, especially the team's CO and archaeologist.

War was unofficially declared after Lieutenant Gutierrez presented Ariana with a gorgeous bouquet of yellow roses. After that, not an hour of the day passed without a member of SG1 being present. Teal'c amused everyone on the medical staff by reading the newest Harry Potter book aloud to Ariana after she mentioned that she hadn't read it yet. The rest of the team usually brought work with them to their vigils. Major Carter brought her laptop with her, as did the colonel - who actually managed to get caught up with all of his paperwork despite being hindered by his cast. Daniel also brought work, but spent most of his time discussing various artifacts and translations with his slowly recovering friend.

It came as no surprise to Janet, then, when the colonel dropped by her office to ask a question on the evening before she released Ariana. Janet smiled and shook her head as the man left her office, whistling a jaunty tune in pleasure at her answer.

**ooOOoo**

"Hey. . ."

The crowd of people in Daniel's office turned to see Ariana leaning in the doorway. Daniel smiled up at his friend from where he and Teal'c had been peering closely at an artifact. Sam, loitering about on the other side of the worktable, waved the ethnobotanist into the room.

"I didn't know that Janet was letting you out," she said with a grin.

Ariana grinned back at her. "Time off for good behavior. The good doctor has given her permission for me to leave the infirmary under supervision."

"Do you need someone to stay with you?" asked Daniel with a frown.

Ariana shook her head. "Nope. Thanks, Daniel, I'm just waiting on my ride."

At that moment, Jack stuck his head around the corner. Seeing Ariana, he said, "There you are. You ready to go, Farrell?"

Daniel looked faintly shocked. "Jack's taking you home?"

"No."

"Where are you going, then?" asked Sam, confused. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

Ariana and Jack looked at each other for a moment before saying together, "Fishing!"

**ooOOoo**

They made it all the way to the elevator before they started laughing. Ariana held her ribs as she gasped for air, as they were still quite tender. Jack bent over, bracing his good hand on one knee.

"Did you see their faces?"

"I didn't think Teal'c's eyebrow could go any higher!"

"The delivery was perfect."

"I thought Daniel was going to pass out."

"Serves him right. You ready for some major relaxation, Farrell?"

"_Yeah sure, ya betcha. . ._"

"Oh, For cryin' out loud!"

**The End**


End file.
